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Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier
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Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2015) | Viewed by 97777

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yongrok Choi

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Guest Editor
Department of International Trade, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Republic of Korea
Interests: energy & environment (E&E); e-Business
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Malin Song

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Guest Editor
Director of Research Center of Statistics for Management, Longhu Scholar of Anhui University of Finance and Economics (AUFE), No. 962, Caoshan Road, Bengbu, Anhui, China
Interests: sustainable development; environmental economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Seunghwan Myeong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Public Administration, Inha University, Incheon 22188, Republic of Korea
Interests: smart cities; smart e-governance; digital divide; information management in public organizations; government innovation and project management; information technology and communication policy; research methodology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will consist of selected papers from the Sustainable Asia Conference 2015, an international conference held in Lanzhou, China, during July, 2015. SAC 2015 is one of the leading international conferences for presenting novel and fundamental advances in Sustainable Development Issues for Asia. The purpose of the conference is for scientists, scholars, engineers, and students from universities and research institutes around the world to present ongoing research activities so as to promote global research networking in the area of sustainable development. This conference provides opportunities for the delegates to exchange new ideas and application experiences, face-to-face, to establish research or business relations, and to find global partners for future collaborations. The scope of this Special Issue encompasses topics related to sustainable development and management at both the macro- and micro-levels in Asian countries

Prof. Dr. Yongrok Choi
Dr. Malin Song
Prof. Dr. Seunghwan Myeong
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.


Keywords

  • sustainable development policy in Asia
  • sustainable business strategies and case studies in Asia
  • green growth and the low carbon economy in Asia
  • energy efficiency and greenhouse emission control in Asia
  • sustainable and governance-oriented it and e-business in Asia
  • Sustainability indicators and new methodologies

Published Papers (17 papers)

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Editorial

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177 KiB  
Editorial
Introduction to the Special Issue on the Sustainable Asia Conference 2015
by Yongrok Choi, Malin Song and Seunghwan Myeong
Sustainability 2016, 8(3), 266; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8030266 - 12 Mar 2016
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4292
Abstract
Of late, Asian countries have been experiencing serious environmental disasters, such as the particulate matter (PM) smog in China, a yellow sand storm in Korea, and the Fukuyama nuclear power station shutdown in Japan. Since its inauguration in 2009, the Sustainable Asia Conference [...] Read more.
Of late, Asian countries have been experiencing serious environmental disasters, such as the particulate matter (PM) smog in China, a yellow sand storm in Korea, and the Fukuyama nuclear power station shutdown in Japan. Since its inauguration in 2009, the Sustainable Asia Conference (SAC) has evolved into one of the leading international conferences for coping with these environmental challenges and presenting novel and fundamental advances in sustainable development for Asia. This editorial for SAC 2015 will highlight the contents and new methodologies put forth by selected papers, presenting diverse implications in sustainable policies and business strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

1630 KiB  
Article
Effect of Population Structure Change on Carbon Emission in China
by Wen Guo, Tao Sun and Hongjun Dai
Sustainability 2016, 8(3), 225; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8030225 - 04 Mar 2016
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 5787
Abstract
This paper expanded the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model through the introduction of urbanization, residents’ consumption, and other factors, and decomposed carbon emission changes in China into carbon emission factor effect, energy intensity effect, consumption inhibitory factor effect, urbanization effect, residents’ consumption [...] Read more.
This paper expanded the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model through the introduction of urbanization, residents’ consumption, and other factors, and decomposed carbon emission changes in China into carbon emission factor effect, energy intensity effect, consumption inhibitory factor effect, urbanization effect, residents’ consumption effect, and population scale effect, and then explored contribution rates and action mechanisms of the above six factors on change in carbon emissions in China. Then, the effect of population structure change on carbon emission was analyzed by taking 2003–2012 as a sample period, and combining this with the panel data of 30 provinces in China. Results showed that in 2003–2012, total carbon emission increased by 4.2117 billion tons in China. The consumption inhibitory factor effect, urbanization effect, residents’ consumption effect, and population scale effect promoted the increase in carbon emissions, and their contribution ratios were 27.44%, 12.700%, 74.96%, and 5.90%, respectively. However, the influence of carbon emission factor effect (−2.54%) and energy intensity effect (−18.46%) on carbon emissions were negative. Population urbanization has become the main population factor which affects carbon emission in China. The “Eastern aggregation” phenomenon caused the population scale effect in the eastern area to be significantly higher than in the central and western regions, but the contribution rate of its energy intensity effect (−11.10 million tons) was significantly smaller than in the central (−21.61 million tons) and western regions (−13.29 million tons), and the carbon emission factor effect in the central area (−3.33 million tons) was significantly higher than that in the eastern (−2.00 million tons) and western regions (−1.08 million tons). During the sample period, the change in population age structure, population education structure, and population occupation structure relieved growth of carbon emissions in China, but the effects of change of population, urban and rural structure, regional economic level, and population size generated increases in carbon emissions. Finally, the change of population sex structure had no significant influence on changes in carbon emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
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1084 KiB  
Article
A Study on Estimation of Land Value Using Spatial Statistics: Focusing on Real Transaction Land Prices in Korea
by Bongjoon Kim and Taeyoung Kim
Sustainability 2016, 8(3), 203; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8030203 - 25 Feb 2016
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4922
Abstract
The aim of this research is to compare OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) and spatial regression models which are methods of calculating the traditional value of land—using data on the practical transaction price of land—and to enhance the applicability of estimation of official land [...] Read more.
The aim of this research is to compare OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) and spatial regression models which are methods of calculating the traditional value of land—using data on the practical transaction price of land—and to enhance the applicability of estimation of official land assessment prices set by the Korean government while deducing policy implications for effective implementation. That is, as a way to overcome the limitations of the traditional regression model, we compare various Generalized Regression Models such as SLM (Spatial Lag Model), SEM (Spatial Error Model) with OLS. Consequently, an in-depth diagnosis is conducted to generate a proper estimation model for land pricing, and, also, the analysis focuses on vertical and horizontal equity using COD (Coefficient of Dispersion), COV (Coefficient of Variation) and PRD (Price-Related Differential). The results indicate that SEM is more appropriate than AIC (Akaike info criterion) and SC (Schwarz criterion) in terms of measuring log-likelihood, demonstrating that the spatial autocorrelation model is superior to the traditional regression model. It shows that the SEM is also the best among the tested models with regard to measuring horizontal equity. The spatial econometric model, therefore, is strongly recommended for estimating the prices of land and houses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
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951 KiB  
Article
Sustaining Competitiveness: Moving Towards Upstream Manufacturing in Specialized-Market-Based Clusters in the Chinese Toy Industry
by Huasheng Zhu, Xue Huang, Qingcan He, Jie Li and Lingzhi Ren
Sustainability 2016, 8(2), 176; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8020176 - 18 Feb 2016
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6206
Abstract
Western industrial cluster literature pays little attention to specialized markets (SMs) and the geographical agglomeration of distributors or sale agencies (SAs). This paper takes Linyin, Shandong, a famous commodity city in Northeastern China, as an example, to discuss the determinants that make SAs [...] Read more.
Western industrial cluster literature pays little attention to specialized markets (SMs) and the geographical agglomeration of distributors or sale agencies (SAs). This paper takes Linyin, Shandong, a famous commodity city in Northeastern China, as an example, to discuss the determinants that make SAs in SMs of the toy industry move towards upstream manufacturing. A structured questionnaire survey and subsequent interviews were carried out during 2011 and 2012 to collect data, and a Binary Logistic Regression Model was used to process the data. This paper looks from the perspective of global production networks theory, establishes an analytical framework that combines individual motivations of intra-firm coordination, local inter-firm relationships and dynamic cross-regional level relationships. The findings indicate that the expansion of SAs towards manufacturing allows them to sustain competitiveness under changing circumstances. The local inter-firm relationships within SM-based clusters not only makes it easy to obtain material and human resources with lower manufacturing costs, but also facilitates the access to production knowledge and technologies for an expansion of production scale. Cross-regional relationships with suppliers provide an informal channel for SAs to obtain skills, which is fundamental for an expansion into manufacturing. In addition, it is a preference for strengthening competitiveness rather than the simple pursuit of economic profit that encourages SAs to invest in manufacturing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
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415 KiB  
Article
Brownfield Redevelopment Evaluation Based on Fuzzy Real Options
by Hongjun Dai, Tao Sun and Wen Guo
Sustainability 2016, 8(2), 170; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8020170 - 16 Feb 2016
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4462
Abstract
There are a great amount of brownfield in Chinese mining cities. In order to promote mining cities sustainable development, it is necessary to redevelop brownfield. There is a great deal of uncertainty in the process of brownfield redevelopment owing to the influences of [...] Read more.
There are a great amount of brownfield in Chinese mining cities. In order to promote mining cities sustainable development, it is necessary to redevelop brownfield. There is a great deal of uncertainty in the process of brownfield redevelopment owing to the influences of pollution. Normal fuzzy numbers were used to describe the fuzziness of the expected DCF (discounted cash flow) value of brownfield redevelopment projects. In view of experts’ preferences, the weight of fuzzed estimation intervals of the expected DCF value was determined by means of the lattice closeness degree to find the volatility of the expected DCF value. Combining the results with the B-S (Black-Scholes) real option model, we built a fuzzy real option model which could be applied to the brownfield redevelopment projects. The empirical results showed that the valuation results of the fuzzy real option model, considering the experts’ risk preferences, were relatively objective and accurate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
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220 KiB  
Article
Does Foreign Direct Investment Affect Green Growth? Evidence from China’s Experience
by Shujing Yue, Yang Yang and Yaoyu Hu
Sustainability 2016, 8(2), 158; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8020158 - 16 Feb 2016
Cited by 50 | Viewed by 7343
Abstract
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) not only affects the economic growth but also affects the environmental protection of the host country. With China’s background of pursuing green growth, we need to consider the performance of FDI from the economic and environmental benefit aspects. On [...] Read more.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) not only affects the economic growth but also affects the environmental protection of the host country. With China’s background of pursuing green growth, we need to consider the performance of FDI from the economic and environmental benefit aspects. On this basis, using slacks-based measure directional distance function (SBMDDF) to build up green growth efficiency, economic efficiency and environmental efficiency indexes, empirical research on FDI in 104 Chinese cities from 2004 to 2011 has shown that: (1) Different cities have differences in their green growth efficiency. Shenzhen city is always efficient in green economic growth. (2) Overall, FDI is positive on Chinese cities’ green growth. (3) When the green growth efficiency is broken down into economic efficiency and environmental efficiency, FDI promotes China’s economic green growth through both environmental benefits and economic benefits. (4) The effect of FDI differs in different sectors. FDI in the emission-intensive sector promotes green efficiency mainly through the improvement of economic efficiency. FDI in the non-emission-intensive sector promotes economic efficiency, environmental efficiency and green efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
225 KiB  
Article
Regional Convergence and Sustainable Development in China
by Fang Yang, Shiying Pan and Xin Yao
Sustainability 2016, 8(2), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8020121 - 28 Jan 2016
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 6858
Abstract
Based on the convergence theory of economic growth, this paper extends this concept to the human development index and carries out an empirical analysis of regional development in China between 1997 and 2006. Our research shows that the conditional convergence has been identified. [...] Read more.
Based on the convergence theory of economic growth, this paper extends this concept to the human development index and carries out an empirical analysis of regional development in China between 1997 and 2006. Our research shows that the conditional convergence has been identified. Investment in fixed assets, government expenditure on education, health and infrastructure construction have positive effects on regional convergence of social development. Population weighted analysis of human development index provides support for weak convergence amongst provinces. Analysis of dynamics of regional distribution reveals the club convergence, which indicate two different convergence states. Central China is in the shade and lags behind, giving rise to the so-called “central downfall”. To solve this problem, the “Rise of Central China” Plan is necessary to promote the connection between coastal and inland regions of China and reduce the regional development gap. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
253 KiB  
Article
Does the Sustainable PPI Investments Promote Financial Market’s Sustainable Development?
by Tong Fu, Hongzhang Chen and Yongrok Choi
Sustainability 2016, 8(2), 120; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8020120 - 28 Jan 2016
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5194
Abstract
Since the late 1980s, most developing countries adopt a policy of attracting investments for Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI) projects. With a perspective of sustainability, this paper offers a first attempt to examine whether the sustainable PPI investments promote financial market development. First, [...] Read more.
Since the late 1980s, most developing countries adopt a policy of attracting investments for Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI) projects. With a perspective of sustainability, this paper offers a first attempt to examine whether the sustainable PPI investments promote financial market development. First, we demonstrate how the PPI policy enlargers the size of financial markets and then fosters the liquidity of financial markets in the static and dynamic conditions. Using the data from 33 developing countries during 1997–2012, we discover the significant promotion effect of PPI investments on the development of financial markets in the dimensions of size and liquidity. Additionally, we confirm the significant mediator effect of financial market size for the positive relationship between PPI investments and financial market liquidity. Both the promotion effect and mediation effect are robust to different control variables and estimation techniques used. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
1485 KiB  
Article
Multi-Layered Capital Subsidy Policy for the PV Industry in China Considering Regional Differences
by Lei Li, Ting Chi, Meng Zhang and Shi Wang
Sustainability 2016, 8(1), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8010045 - 05 Jan 2016
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4662
Abstract
As a country with huge energy consumption, China has been paying more and more attention to green growth in recent years. Several subsidy policies have been conducted to boost the photovoltaic (PV) industry so far. However, as a matter of fact, there are [...] Read more.
As a country with huge energy consumption, China has been paying more and more attention to green growth in recent years. Several subsidy policies have been conducted to boost the photovoltaic (PV) industry so far. However, as a matter of fact, there are 31 provinces and municipalities (PM) in mainland China, and the economic condition, environmental resources and energy structure of each PM are all significantly different, which leads to a discrepancy of PV efficiency among regions. This paper proposes that the subsidies for the PV industry should be considered mainly from three aspects: the PM’s economic condition, energy efficiency and environmental responsibility. We built 19 evaluation indicators involving economic, environmental and energy factors, allocated weight to each indicator using the entropy weight method and sorted the 31 evaluation objects by TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution) method. Additionally, through an empirical study, we obtained the subsidy proportion for each PM. The result could make much of a contribution to the green growth of different regions and to the whole country. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
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576 KiB  
Article
Which Subsidy Mode Improves the Financial Performance of Renewable Energy Firms? A Panel Data Analysis of Wind and Solar Energy Companies between 2009 and 2014
by Huiming Zhang, Yu Zheng, Dequn Zhou and Peifeng Zhu
Sustainability 2015, 7(12), 16548-16560; https://doi.org/10.3390/su71215831 - 15 Dec 2015
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 6240
Abstract
The effectiveness of subsidies in improving the performance of renewable energy firms has aroused significant research attention in recent years. As subsidy modes may affect corporate financial performance,we have chosen companies specializing in wind and solar energy in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock [...] Read more.
The effectiveness of subsidies in improving the performance of renewable energy firms has aroused significant research attention in recent years. As subsidy modes may affect corporate financial performance,we have chosen companies specializing in wind and solar energy in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets as samples.The relationships between the subsidy modes and financial performance of these two types of companies are investigated with a panel data model. Results of the total sample indicate that both indirect and non-innovative subsidy have significant effects on the financial performance of renewable energy companies. The regressive coefficient of the former,however, is a negative value, which illustrates that taxation, bonus, and other market-based mechanisms impair corporate profitability. Moreover, the influence of innovative subsidy is weak, which means that the subsidy used for research and development, technical demonstration, and other innovations of renewable energy enterprises have failed to effectively enhance corporate financial performance. In terms of sub-industries, the direct subsidy for wind energy companies has achieved a significant effect. Incomparison, the indirect subsidy and innovative subsidy acquired by solar energy companies have notably reduced corporate profitability. Thissuggests an urgent reform of subsidy policy for this industry is needed. The government should consider differences in the effects subsidies have for wind and solar energy companies when improving subsidy policy. In addition, market-based subsidy mechanisms should be perfected, and the structure of innovative subsidies should be ameliorated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
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3630 KiB  
Article
Regional Water Footprint Assessment: A Case Study of Leshan City
by Rui Zhao, Hualing He and Ning Zhang
Sustainability 2015, 7(12), 16532-16547; https://doi.org/10.3390/su71215829 - 15 Dec 2015
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 7580
Abstract
This paper presents an assessment of urban water footprint in the period of 2001 to 2012 by taking Leshan City, China as a typical case study. The water footprint is calculated by the sum of the water footprints of various sectors, i.e., [...] Read more.
This paper presents an assessment of urban water footprint in the period of 2001 to 2012 by taking Leshan City, China as a typical case study. The water footprint is calculated by the sum of the water footprints of various sectors, i.e., crop production, animal products, industrial processes, domestic waster, eco-environment, and virtual water trade. Results show that the water footprints of the various sectors rose by degrees varying from 19% to 55%, which gave rise to an increase of the total water footprint of 43.13% from 2001 to 2012. Crop production and animal products are identified as the major water intensive sectors, accounting for about 68.97% of the total water footprint. The water footprint in the Northeastern area of Leshan City is greater than that of the Southwestern area in the period 1992–2012, resulted in an expansion of water footprint in the Sha Wan and Wu Tongqiao Districts due to the development of urbanization. The application of water footprint assessment is expected to provide insight into the improvement of urban water efficiency, and thus aid in better water resources management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
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1256 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Lake Basin Water Resource Governance in China: The Case of Tai Lake
by Zhengning Pu, Hui Wang, Haili Bian and Jiasha Fu
Sustainability 2015, 7(12), 16422-16434; https://doi.org/10.3390/su71215824 - 11 Dec 2015
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5527
Abstract
China’s water pollution is severe and has a negative impact on its residents. Establishing an emissions trading mechanism will be helpful for reducing the pollution. However, the government in China controls the emission rights market. The “GDP Only” preference blocks equitable rules to [...] Read more.
China’s water pollution is severe and has a negative impact on its residents. Establishing an emissions trading mechanism will be helpful for reducing the pollution. However, the government in China controls the emission rights market. The “GDP Only” preference blocks equitable rules to address the externalities. To modify this distortion, we develop a multi-objective primary distribution model that optimizes economic efficiency, environmental contribution, and fairness. In addition, the geographical location of a company and the industry differential are two key factors that would affect the local government’s decision. According to the simulation results using data from Tai Lake in China, this model can effectively help to meet the political expectation that large-scale manufacturers with poor technology can take the initiative to reduce emissions through emission-rights distribution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
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3510 KiB  
Article
Location Planning Problem of Service Centers for Sustainable Home Healthcare: Evidence from the Empirical Analysis of Shanghai
by Gang Du and Chuanwang Sun
Sustainability 2015, 7(12), 15812-15832; https://doi.org/10.3390/su71215787 - 27 Nov 2015
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 6207
Abstract
It is of theoretical and practical significance to understand what factors influence the sustainable development of home healthcare services in China. Based on a face-to-face survey, we find that the location planning, which is decisive for the improvement of patient satisfaction, can effectively [...] Read more.
It is of theoretical and practical significance to understand what factors influence the sustainable development of home healthcare services in China. Based on a face-to-face survey, we find that the location planning, which is decisive for the improvement of patient satisfaction, can effectively reduce the risks, as well as the costs of redundant construction and re-construction of service centers for home healthcare and, thus, helps ensure the sustainability of health and the environment. The purposes of this paper are to investigate the existing problem of home healthcare in Shanghai and to find the optimum location planning scheme under several realistic constraints. By considering differentiated services provided by the medical staff at different levels and the degrees of patient satisfaction, a mixed integer programming model is built to minimize the total medical cost. The IBM ILOGCPLEX is used to solve the above model. Finally, a case study of Putuo district in Shanghai is conducted to validate the proposed model and methodology. Results indicate that the model used in this paper can effectively reduce the total medical cost and enhance the medical sustainability, and therefore, the results of the model can be used as a reference for decision makers on the location planning problem of home healthcare services in China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
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919 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Factor Analysis of Trends in Temporal–Spatial Patterns of China’s Coal Consumption
by Yuhuan Sun, Qian Li, Ting Chen and Xiaoai Jia
Sustainability 2015, 7(11), 15119-15135; https://doi.org/10.3390/su71115119 - 13 Nov 2015
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5157
Abstract
This paper analyzes coal consumption in the 31 provinces and regions of China from 1995 to 2012. Using spatial analysis in Arc geographical information systems (ArcGIS) and the concept of the center of gravity in physics, we explore the regional differences in temporal-spatial [...] Read more.
This paper analyzes coal consumption in the 31 provinces and regions of China from 1995 to 2012. Using spatial analysis in Arc geographical information systems (ArcGIS) and the concept of the center of gravity in physics, we explore the regional differences in temporal-spatial coal consumption and the factors influencing them. The results show that China’s coal consumption increased yearly, especially after 2003. It exhibits a marked spatial clustering phenomenon; consumption in the south and east exceeded that in the north and west respectively. Moreover, the center of gravity of consumption gradually moved toward the southwest, indicating reducing gaps in coal consumption between the north-south and the east-west regions. Both the level of economic development and coal consumption are positively related with regional coal production. Promoting urbanization and increasing the proportion of the tertiary industry can effectively reduce coal consumption and help readjust coal consumption patterns to sustainable levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
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835 KiB  
Article
Intermediary Propositions for Green Growth with Sustainable Governance
by Yongrok Choi
Sustainability 2015, 7(11), 14785-14801; https://doi.org/10.3390/su71114785 - 05 Nov 2015
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5249
Abstract
This article gives an overview of the conceptual characteristics of sustainable development by searching the governance-oriented intermediaries. It shows how the new paradigm of green growth evolved through international consensus and how this paradigm of the public-private partnership (PPP) could work with the [...] Read more.
This article gives an overview of the conceptual characteristics of sustainable development by searching the governance-oriented intermediaries. It shows how the new paradigm of green growth evolved through international consensus and how this paradigm of the public-private partnership (PPP) could work with the new propositions of intermediation. The historical context in the latter half of the 20th century is outlined, in which a paradigm shift toward PPP was caused by green growth policies. It emphasizes the governance, resulting in the propositions of the intermediary role of PPP by the SWOT matrix: facilitator, collaborator, network manager and service provider. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
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762 KiB  
Article
The Efficiency and Its Determinants for China’s Medical Care System: Some Policy Implications for Northeast Asia
by Kejia Chu, Ning Zhang and Zhongfei Chen
Sustainability 2015, 7(10), 14092-14111; https://doi.org/10.3390/su71014092 - 20 Oct 2015
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5477
Abstract
The medical care system in China has experienced significant changes during three decades of reform, and thus result in a need to investigate the effects of medical reform. This paper investigates the technical efficiency of Chinese hospitals in 31 provinces during the period [...] Read more.
The medical care system in China has experienced significant changes during three decades of reform, and thus result in a need to investigate the effects of medical reform. This paper investigates the technical efficiency of Chinese hospitals in 31 provinces during the period from 2002 to 2013 by proposing a new global generalized directional distance function (GGDDF) approach taking account of undesirable output, i.e., mortality. Results show that despite the technical efficiency had being improved with time trend, most Chinese provinces are not performing well on hospitals’ technical efficiency and leave a large potential to improve. Some provinces display better performance compared to other provinces of China. We further investigate the factors that affect the technical efficiency of Chinese hospitals with Tobit models. It concludes that the medical insurance reforms have improved the performance of Chinese hospitals, while public subsidies have decreased it. The provinces with higher GDP per capital and population density, the performance of their hospitals is better. The related policy implications for Northeast Asia are derived, including encouraging the development of private hospitals, enlarging the coverage of medical services, and pursuing different policies for the provinces with higher GDP per capital and population density. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
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1202 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Spatial-Temporal Disparities of Urban Land Use Economic Efficiency in China and Its Influencing Factors under Environmental Constraints Based on a Sequential Slacks-Based Model
by Hualin Xie and Wei Wang
Sustainability 2015, 7(8), 10171-10190; https://doi.org/10.3390/su70810171 - 31 Jul 2015
Cited by 51 | Viewed by 5854
Abstract
Using a sequential slack-based measure (SSBM) model, this paper analyzes the spatiotemporal disparities of urban land use economic efficiency (ULUEE) under environmental constraints, and its influencing factors in 270 cities across China from 2003–2012. The main results are as follows: (1) The average [...] Read more.
Using a sequential slack-based measure (SSBM) model, this paper analyzes the spatiotemporal disparities of urban land use economic efficiency (ULUEE) under environmental constraints, and its influencing factors in 270 cities across China from 2003–2012. The main results are as follows: (1) The average ULUEE for Chinese cities is only 0.411, and out of the 270 cities, only six cities are always efficient in urban land use in the study period. Most cities have a lot of room to improve the economic output of secondary and tertiary industries, as well as environmental protection work; (2) The eastern region of China enjoys the highest ULUEE, followed by the western and central regions. Super-scale cities show the best performance of all four city scales, followed by large-scale, small-scale and medium-scale cities. Cities with relatively developed economies and less pollutant discharge always have better ULUEE; (3) The results of slack variables analysis show that most cities have problems such as the labor surplus, over-development, excessive pollutant discharge, economic output shortage, and unreasonable use of funds is the most serious one; (4) The regression results of the influencing factors show that improvements of the per capita GDP and land use intensity are helpful to raise ULUEE. The urbanization rate and the proportion of foreign enterprises’ output account for the total output in the secondary and tertiary industries only have the same effect in some regions and city scales. The land management policy and land leasing policy have negative impact on the ULUEE in all the three regions and four city scales; (5) Some targeted policy goals are proposed, including the reduction of surplus labor, and pay more attention to environmental protection. Most importantly, effective implementation of land management policies from the central government, and stopping blind leasing of land to make up the local government’s financial deficit would be very helpful to improve the ULUEE of Chinese cities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Innovation Frontier)
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